Herbs 'n' Spice & All Things Nice

The other day, I was out running a few errands and doing some shopping when I saw this at the entrance of a shop - 'Coriander 3 for $1'. Now, if you are an Indian living in Sydney you'll probably share my excitement about this. In my local supermarket I have to pay almost $3 for a bunch. I simply love, love, love fresh coriander. There is something endearing about it. The colour, flavour and smell of this humble herb can add so much more to a dish. I've also heard that it has blood purifying qualities. So all the more reason for me to stock my fridge with lots of fresh coriander. So, I went into this shop with my heart singing a little tune and found to my surprise that there were other herbs there too, all fresh and pretty cheap. So I ended up buying bunches of coriander, mint and dill, making my grocery bag look like as if I ripped it off from a patch of greens.

Back home, I was eager to include all that lush green stuff for lunch. So I decided to make akki rotti (flat, Indian bread) with all the herbs. It turned out really yummy and my kitchen smelt so heavenly!



Here's the recipe -

• 2 cups rice flour
• 1.5 cups chopped finely herbs - coriander, mint and dill
• 2 green chillies, a piece of ginger and tspn of cumin seeds (jeera) - crushed in a mortar and pestle, you could even make a paste in the blender.
• 1 small onion, finely chopped (optional)
  
• salt to taste

1. Combine all the above ingredients in a large bowl and using enough water, make a soft pliable dough.
2. Take a fistful of the dough and place it on a piece of baking paper (cut to a medium square or circle). Gently pat it into a fairly thin, round shape. Same as a chapathi, only you'll be using the pressure of your fingers instead of the rolling pin. M likes to call this 'rotti with unique finger print technology' :) Traditionally, a fresh banana/plantain leaf is used as the base and boy! do I miss that! Well, I have to make do with the next best alternative and I find baking paper convenient. You could even use a piece of thick plastic sheet, but with it comes the added challenge of burnt plastic, etc. So I choose to use baking paper and you'll know why in a minute :)
   
3. Heat a skillet/griddle/tawa on medium heat. If yours is non-stick then you don't have to smear any oil on it. Place the baking paper, rotti side down on the hot skillet and wait for a couple of seconds before peeling it off. It comes off easily and you can start patting your next rotti on it.
4. Drizzle a little bit of oil/ghee around the rotti as it cooks on the skillet. Turn around and cook on both sides until light brown.
5. Serve hot with coconut chutney or chutney pudi and ghee.

Idli - Sambhar - Chutney

My parents, my sis, my grandparents and I had gone on a South India tour when I was a kid. It was a long tour, about a week or so I guess. We stayed at hotels at night and travelled and saw places during the day. One of the things I distinctly remember about this trip is breakfast at the hotels. There were so many things that smelt so good and looked even better. I remember I was so tempted to have the big, hot, puffed up puri (deep fried Indian bread) that the people at the next table were having. But mum always said 'eat idlies first and then you can have the puri' and I wrinkled my nose at the plain, dull idlies. Mum was smart, she wanted me to have the healthy, steamed breakfast and not the oily alternative and she knew that my tiny stomach would be full with a couple of idlies! So, there, a promise that was not quite met :-)

Idli - steamed rice and lentil cakes. I guess I wouldn't be wrong if I said it is the one thing most children (and some adults, ahem) would gladly swap for anything else for breakfast! Not one of the favourites exactly, but truly one of the most popular on the Bangalore Breakfast menu. Every restaurant in India that serves South Indian food will definitely have this on their menu. It is served with hot steaming sambhar and coconut chutney and to most people the only appealing factor may be the crispy vadas that accompany it!
But I have to admit, I graduated from my days as a kid into a sensible woman who actually liked idlies as they were healthy and apparently low fat, wow! M, on the other hand, is still the fussy kid when it comes to these humble white fluffies :-)

Still, I made idlies for breakfast yesterday and he gladly ate them, for several reasons maybe - the sambhar was yummy. there was chutney and he was really hungry, period! I did not make vadas though, will make them some time soon.

The recipe as my mom-in-law taught me, who by the way, makes the softest, fluffiest idlies :-)

• 4 measures of uncooked rice
  
• 1 measure of urad dal (white, split lentils)
• salt to taste

Soak the rice and urad dal, separately, overnight or for about 8 hours atleast.

Grind, again separately, into a very smooth batter. A wet grinder works the best, but a food processor/blender/mixer will do the job as well. Be wary of adding too much water while grinding. The batter should be pourable, but not too runny either. A little stiffer than dosa batter, if you know what I mean...

Mix both the batters well in a large container, add salt to taste and leave overnight or for about 8 hours to ferment. Leave the container in a warm place, if possible. Once fermented, the batter should be risen, light and fluffy. This will ensure your idlies turn out soft and fluffy.

Now, grease the idli moulds and pour in the batter. Steam in an idli maker, microwave or a pressure cooker (without the weight). The cooking time will depend on the method you choose. I usually steam mine in a pressure cooker and it takes about 10 - 15 minutes.

Serve hot with sambhar and coconut chutney. I will post the recipe for sambhar soon...
Try this legendary Bangalore Breakfast, but without the prejudice, let's give the idli a fair chance to win!

Chow Chow Bhath...

No, this doesn't have anything to do with China or the currency of Thailand! It is next on my Bangalore Breakfast menu :) Don't ask me how it got this international sounding name, but it is something that every Bangalorean will be familiar with. Every Darshini or Sagar (common restaurants in Bangalore) will certainly have this on their breakfast menu. So what on earth is it!? Well, it is a comforting combination, a little spicy 'n' a little sweet, upma/uppittu and kesaribhath. (Separate portions of both are served together.)They are both made of semolina/rava/sooji.
We invited two of our very good friends over for a Sunday brunch and the Bangalorean in me coaxed me to make this endearing combo. Our friends, H & A, are from Bangalore too and we spent a relaxed Sunday reminiscing some good old memories of our hometown.

"Memory... is the diary that we all carry about with us." ~Oscar Wilde, "The Importance of Being Earnest"

Here's the recipe -

Uppittu/Upma for 4

• 1 large cup coarse rava/semolina/sooji (roasted)
• 2 large cups water (1:2 ratio of rava and water)
  
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3-4 green chillies, chopped
• 1-2 dry red chillies
• some curry leaves
• a small piece of ginger, grated
• 1 cup mixed veggies - peas, beans, carrot and potato, diced
• for tempering - mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal and a pinch of hing
• a pinch of turmeric
• chopped coriander to garnish
• 2 tbspns ghee (clarified butter)
  
• salt to taste
• 2 tbspns grated coconut (optional)
• a little bit of lemon juice

1. It is important to roast the rava well, otherwise the final product will be mushy and not very appealing. Roast it in a thick bottomed/non stick frying pan on medium heat until it turns slightly brown and smells nutty. Keep this aside.
2. Heat ghee in a wok/pan and add all ingredients for tempering.
3. Now add curry leaves, chillies and ginger.
4. Add chopped onion and saute till done.
5. Add the diced veggies and saute for a couple of minutes.
6. Add 2 cups water and put in salt, turmeric and 1/4 tspn sugar.
7. Bring to the boil.
8. Turn the heat down and slowly add the roasted rava and keep stirring simultaneously to avoid lumps. (This step needs to be done carefully as the whole mixture will start bubbling furiously like hot lava and you don't want any hot splatters on your hand.)
9. Quickly add the grated coconut and mix well until everything amalgamates well.
10. Garnish with chopped coriander, drizzle lemon juice and serve hot.

Kesari Bhath for 4

• 1 small cup roasted rava (for this recipe, roast the rava in some (1tspn) ghee)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 small cups water
  
• a handful of cashews, almonds, sultanas (lightly roasted in some ghee)
  
• 1/4 tspn cardamom powder
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pineapple (optional) I used the canned ones.
• a few drops of yellow food colour (or you could use some fresh saffron soaked in a tspn of milk for a lovely natural colour. That's how it gets its name - Kesari = saffron)

1. Heat ghee in a kadai/wok and add the rava. Roast on low flame until lightly brown. Meanwhile bring to the boil 2 cups of water in a saucepan.
2. Once the rava is nicely roasted, turn down the heat and pour in the boiling water, very carefully, while stirring it simultaneously to avoid lumps.
3. The boiling water will cook the rava in a couple of minutes. It is very important for the rava to be cooked. Otherwise it will not taste good and will be somewhat hard.
4. Once everything is well amalgamated, add the sugar and stir well. At this stage the whole mixture will slightly liquefy because of the sugar (add the cardamom powder and dry fruits, pineapple and food colour now) but will very soon come back to the right consistency. You could also add a couple of tspns of ghee for added richness and taste.
   
5. Turn off the heat and serve hot.

Of course, these recipes can well be prepared and served independent of each other. In fact, kesari bhath is a common dessert that is made in most Bangalore households when guests come over. It is simple and quick to make but tastes great. One of the many comfort foods :)

I also made Maddur Vadas and coconut chutney, M's favourite :)

Oh and H & A got some drool inducing chocolates for us, muah guys! Here's a peek for you...

Bread Upma/Bread Poha/Bread Upkari

Iyengar's Bakery - something you will find at every street corner in Bangalore. I'm not really sure why every other bakery is called this, but they have some of the yummiest things to offer, all adapted from the western art of baking. Some of my favourites are veggie puff, khara bun, masala toast, rusks, sponge cake, congress kadlekai and, of course, topping the list a freshly baked warm loaf of soft white bread. If you walk by these bakeries some time mid afternoon, the air is filled with a heavenly sweet smell of baking bread. It's one of the many myriad smells that I associate with Bangalore.

Well, back to breakfast now, how does this fit into the series, you ask. As a kid I remember chikkamma (mum's younger sister) making this for breakfast. Later I learnt she called it 'bread upkari'. It is an interesting adaptation of bread in an Indian breakfast form. I've heard other people call it bread uppittu or bread poha. Well, all the same, a nice variation to bread at breakfast! Really simple and quick. Plus a great way to use up that little bit of leftover bread. I have found, in my several trials, that bakery fresh, white bread tastes the best. But you can make it with almost any (fairly soft) bread that you have at home.

It's quite similar to the avalakki recipe I posted earlier, but I'll write the recipe again -

• 1/2 a loaf of bread (about 6 slices, will serve 2)
• 2-3 green chillies, chopped and 1-2 dry red chillies
  
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 tspn grated ginger
• curry leaves, a few
• 1 tbspn peanuts
• for tempering (oggarne)- 2 tbspns oil, mustard seeds, urad dal (split white lentils), chana dal (yellow split lentils) (I put in about 1/2 tspn each)
  
• a pinch of turmeric, salt to taste
• 1/4 tspn sugar
  
• chopped coriander
• 1/2 lime

Method -

1. Tear the bread into small chunks. (You could also use your chopping board and knife to cut the slices into tiny cubes.)
   
2. Heat oil in a wok/pan and add all ingredients mentioned for tempering.
3. Now add curry leaves and peanuts.
4. Add chillies and ginger.
5. Next tip in the onion and saute till soft.
6. Add turmeric, salt to taste and sugar.
7. Now tip in the bread and mix well.
8. Turn off the stove, drizzle some lime juice and garnish with chopped coriander.
9. Serve hot.

(For an interesting twist, you can add some lightly mashed boiled potatoes and some grated carrot. )

So if you've got some bread sitting in your pantry and you've pretty much tried all the sandwich fillings possible, this easy Bangalore breakfast is sure to add some excitement to your morning!

Starting
'The Bangalore Breakfast Series'...

Mornings back in Bangalore meant mom-made hot delicious breakfast on the table and me rushing out of the house in a hurry while the cab driver honked impatiently outside. Then, at work, my stomach would make embarrassing growling noises and I'd pacify it with coffee. Back home in the evening, mom would start with her usual 'It's not good to skip breakfast, I had made idlies and chutney today, couldn't you have eaten some before you left?'
This happened almost every day and breakfast was always taken for granted. The same continued at my in-laws' after I got married, and now, it was like M & I were in the same club :-)

Only after we moved to Sydney did we realise the value of yummy homemade Indian breakfast. Of course, we do like the cereal and toast, but we miss the hearty and wholesome mom-made idlies, dosa, upma, avalakki, and the list could go on...

So, saying 'sorry' to moms (my mum & M's mum), I'm attempting to give the ever neglected Bangalore breakfast menu its much needed glory.

I'm starting with avalakki, one of my personal favourites. You may know it as poha, aval or beaten rice. Its source is rice. There are generally three varieties - paper thin, medium thick and thick and you can buy it at any Indian grocery store. I usually use the medium thick one, for which all you need to do is wash it a couple of times (like you would wash rice), drain all the water and set aside for about 10mins or so. It then becomes soft and fluffy and is ready to be cooked.

The recipe itself for Avalakki Oggarne as we call it -

• 3 handfuls of avalakki (prepare it as mentioned above)
• 2-3 green chillies, chopped and 1-2 dry red chillies
  
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 tspn grated ginger
• curry leaves, a few
• 1 tbspn peanuts
• for tempering (oggarne)- 2 tbspns oil, mustard seeds, urad dal (split white lentils), chana dal (yellow split lentils) (I put in about 1/2 tspn each)
  
• a pinch of turmeric, salt to taste
  
• chopped coriander
• 1/2 lime

Method -

1. Heat oil in a wok/pan and add all ingredients mentioned for tempering.
2. Now add curry leaves and peanuts.
3. Add chillies and ginger.
4. Next tip in the onion and saute till soft.
5. Add turmeric, salt to taste and a pinch of sugar.
6. Now tip in the soft 'n' fluffy avalakki and mix well.
7. Turn off the stove, drizzle some lime juice and garnish with chopped coriander.
8. Serve hot.

You could use grated fresh coconut to garnish. Avalakki can be served with coconut chutney. Some people like to eat it with some sev or bhujia on the side.
It is very filling and has this really nice sweet 'n' tangy flavour to it, mmmmm...yummy!

Watch this space, more interesting and much loved Bangalore breakfast items to come!